Lesson ______________

Beatitudes: Matthew 1-5

Prayer:

Dear Lord we confess our manifold sins we have committed and we know that by doing so we are forgiven of those sins and cleansed of all unrighteousness. And now through your grace we are in fellowship with you and are filled with the Holy Spirit and through the instruction of the Holy Spirit we can fulfill the mandate to study the scripture and grow in grace and learn to edify you in all we do in our lives. Glory be to you, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.16All Scripture is given by inspiration of God … (God Breathed) ….and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

     17that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped for all good works.

Hebrews 4:12 (21st Century King James Version)

 12For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

   

2 Timothy 2:15 (21st Century King James Version)

 15Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Introduction: why we study the scripture. Happiness, learn the love of God and the many blessings, both spiritual and temporal, which flow to the mature believer.

1. Happiness:John 15:11 (21st Century King James Version)

 11These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Proverbs 3:13 (21st Century King James Version)(Hebrew word chakmah-wisdom)

 13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding;

Philippians 4:1 (21st Century King James Version)

   Therefore, my dearly beloved and longedfor brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

Hebrews 12:2 (21st Century King James Version)(Jesus used happiness on Cross…)

 2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Philippians 1:21 (21st Century King James Version)

 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

2. Knowledge of the love of God and Blessings:

Ephesians 3:19-20 - The benefit of studying the scripture:Ephesians 3:19-20 (New International Version 1984, ©1984)

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

These things are for the mature believer. A mature believer is one who learns to love God more than anything in life. It can only be acquired by virtue of understanding the scriptures.

He gives us a knowledge beyond human understanding; a Life beyond knowledge. “Epinosis” to know the love of God and to believe and to understand this is beyond human understanding.

God has blessings awaiting the mature believer beyond his/her dreams. This is for the mature believer only. Salvation is for all, but the greater blessings are for the mature believer.

Using our goals and desires and not following is like a man using gasoline to power the human body and not an automobile or using sugar to power the automobile. The energy of the plan of God is more powerful than our energy. God is like a pilot of a jet airplane and we decide to get out and push because he needs help.

Ephesians: Ephesians 1:19-20 (21st Century King James Version)

 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,

     20which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,

Ultimate Goal is the Glorification and Edification of God and His Son Jesus Christ from which flows the love of God, Happiness, and Blessings:

Matthew 5   And seeing the multitudes, He went up onto a mountain; and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him.

     2And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying,

     3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

     4Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

     5Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

     6Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled

Republished with permission from Dr. Reluctant. In this series, Dr. Henebury responds to a collection of criticisms

of dispensationalism entitled “95 Theses against Dispensationalism” written by a group called “The Nicene

Council.” Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Thesis 18Contrary to the dispensationalists’ structuring of law and grace as “antithetical concepts” (Charles Ryrie) with the result that “the doctrines of grace are to be sought in the Epistles, not in the Gospels” (Scofield Reference Bible—SRB, p. 989), the Gospels do declare the doctrines of grace, as we read in John 1:17, “For the law was given by Moses; but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” and in the Bible’s most famous verse: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Response: Dealing first with the Scofield quote, we are at least glad to get a reference! But let’s reproduce the whole SRB quotation:

The doctrines of grace are to be sought in the Epistles, not in the Gospels; but those doctrines rest back upon the death and resurrection of Christ, and upon the great germ-truths to which He gave utterance, and of which the Epistles are the unfolding. Furthermore, the only perfect example of perfect grace is the Christ of the Gospels.

The only thing Scofield appears to be pointing out here is the Protestant view that the unfolding of the doctrines of grace are in the Epistles. That is why evangelicals tend to fetch their doctrinal underpinnings from places like Paul’s epistles to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, etc., more than from the Gospels. This is the old concern about “a canon within the canon,” which all evangelicals have been charged with; that is, deriving their doctrines from the Epistles in preference to the Gospels. It is not peculiar to dispensationalists.

I could not find the phrase “antithetical concepts” in Ryrie. It may be there but I felt no need to send out a search party for it. Ryrie is very clear on this matter:

In answer…to the…question as to the relation of the Mosaic Law to grace, it was built upon what preceded without abrogating previously made promises, and it introduced a distinctive economy [dispensation] in God’s dealings with the world. This is not double-talk, for we have already noted that a dispensation often incorporates features found in others [I highlight this because covenant theologians (CTs) are always saying each dispensation includes NO features of others]. (Dispensationalism, 111)

After citing Berkhof to show that CTs see a “dispensational” element to the Sinaitic covenant, Ryrie continues:

All writers, of whatever theological persuasion, are sensitive to the antithetical nature of law and grace, and at the same time they all desire to maintain the doctrine of salvation by grace at all times. Both emphases are necessary, for there is an antithess between the law and grace (or what do John 1:17; Rom. 6:14, and Gal. 3:23 mean?), and salvation has always been by grace. (Ibid.)

Thesis 19Contrary to the dispensationalists’ historic position that the Sermon on the Mount was designed for Israel alone, to define kingdom living, and “is law, not grace” (SRB, p. 989), historic evangelical orthodoxy sees this great Sermon as applicable to the Church in the present era, applying the Beatitudes (Matt 5:2-12), calling us to be the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13), urging us to build our house on a rock (Matt 7:21-27), directing us to pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13), and more.Response: That some older dispensationalists viewed the Sermon on the Mount as for Israel, or as “law” is true. But SRB should not be misunderstood here: “The Sermon on the Mount is law, not grace, for it demands as a condition of blessing (Mt.5:3-9) that perfect character which grace, through divine power, creates (Gal.5:22,23).” Scofield and Chafer believed that the Sermon held many secondary applications for today. Other dispensationalists, meanwhile, like Ryrie (and perhaps the majority of others), recommend Lloyd-Jones’s exposition as an accurate interpretation at most points (see Ryrie, Dispensationalism, 98). They also see an eschatological aspect to the Sermon in view of the coming Millennial Kingdom. But so do some non-dispensationalists. Furthermore, no dispensationalist would deny what is said above about “historic evangelical orthodoxy’s” applying the Sermon to the Church. Although many evangelicals might not be prepared to repeat “the Lord’s Prayer” as the 18th thesis appears to recommend.

All concerned should read John A. Martin’s “Dispensational Approaches to the Sermon on the Mount” in Toussaint & Dyer (eds.), Essays in Honor of J. Dwight Pentecost, 35-48.

Thesis 20Despite the dispensationalists’ vigorous assertion that their system never has taught two ways of salvation (Couch), one by law-keeping and one by grace alone, the original Scofield Reference Bible, for instance, declared that the Abrahamic and new covenants differed from the Mosaic covenant regarding “salvation” in that “they impose but one condition, faith” (SRB, see note at Ex. 19:6).

Response: For arguments sake we shall allow that Scofield meant to teach two ways of salvation. If he did, he was wrong. Does that mean all dispensationalists must be painted with the same brush? Darby certainly did not teach such a thing. Neither did Brookes, or Peters or Scroggie or Sauer or Walvoord or Pentecost or McClain, or a hundred other dispensationalists.

May I recommend interested readers (or anyone who is planning to lambast dispensationalism) to read Tony Garland’s article, “Does Dispensationalism Teach Two Ways of Salvation?”

Thesis 21Contrary to the dispensationalists’ central affirmation of the “plain interpretation” of Scripture (Charles Ryrie) employing (alleged) literalism, the depth of Scripture is such that it can perplex angels (1 Pet 1:12), the Apostle Peter (2 Pet 3:15-16), and potential converts (Acts 8:30-35); requires growth in grace to understand (Heb 5:11-14) and special teachers to explain (2 Tim 2:2); and is susceptible to false teachers distorting it (1 Tim 1:7).

Response: How do the Nicene Council know these things? The reply comes back, “Because these verses plainly teach it!” Next…

Thesis 22Despite the dispensationalists’ claim to be following “the principle of grammatical-historical interpretation” (Charles Ryrie), they have redefined the method in a way that is rejected by the majority of non-dispensational evangelicals (and even “progressive dispensationalists”) who see that the Bible, while true in all its parts, often speaks in figures and types—e.g., most evangelicals interpret the prophecy in Isaiah and Micah of “the mountain of the house of the Lord being established as the chief of the mountains” (Isa 2:2b, Mic. 4:1b) to refer to the exaltation of God’s people; whereas dispensationalism claims this text is referring to actual geological, tectonic, and volcanic mountain-building whereby “the Temple mount would be lifted up and exalted over all the other mountains” (John Sailhammer) during the millennium.

Response: Here is a standard definition of grammatical-historical (G-H) hermeneutics from a non-dispensationalist:

Its fundamental principle is to gather from the Scriptures themselves the precise meaning which the writers intended to convey. It applies to the sacred books the same principles, the same grammatical process and exercise of common sense and reason, which we apply to other books. The grammatico-historical exegete…will inquire into the circumstances under which [the original author] wrote, the manners and customs of his age, and the purpose or object which he had in view. He has a right to assume that no sensible author will be knowingly inconsistent with himself, or seek to bewilder or mislead his readers.” (Milton S. Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics, 173).

Other examples from non-dispensationalists could be given. It is the authors of the 95 Theses who are not totally forthcoming with their definitions. For example, progressive dispensationalists are open about the fact that they do not employ just G-H hermeneutics. They call their approach grammatical-historical-literary-canonical or “complementary hermeneutics.” CTs will freight in theological interpretation alongside of G-H when they think it necessary.

Of course, “plain-sense [G-H] interpretation” does not ignore figures of speech in Scripture anymore than it does in daily conversation. But it insists that these figures have a literal referent! So it is with Isaiah 2:2f. Indeed, why did the authors not cite the SRB on these verses?

The difference in interpretation is not that dispensationalists have to be literalistic and ignore all figures of speech or literary genres. It is whether those who wish to ignore the contexts (e.g. “house of the Lord,” “Jerusalem,” “Jacob,” “last days”) are justified in introducing allegorical interpretation when none is needed.

Thesis 23Despite the dispensationalists’ conviction that their “plain interpretation” necessarily “gives to every word the same meaning it would have in normal usage” (Charles Ryrie) and is the only proper and defensible method for interpreting Scripture, by adopting this method they are denying the practice of Christ and the Apostles in the New Testament, as when the Lord points to John the Baptist as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah’s return (Matt 10:13-14) and the

Apostles apply the prophecy of the rebuilding of “the tabernacle of David” to the spiritual building of the Church (Acts 15:14-17), and many other such passages.

Response: Plain-sense interpretation does not alleviate all the difficulties involved in understanding Scripture (See Thesis 21 above). Dispensationalists have never claimed to be able to unravel every verse infallibly. We are all trying to study the Bible accurately, and we can all learn from each other.

In Matthew 17:10-13 Jesus refers to John as Elijah who “has come already.” So in some sense “Elijah” has come. Yet this is not the end of the matter. For in John 1:21 John himself is asked whether he is Elijah and he forthrightly answers “I am not.” But in another passage we are told that John “shall go…in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk. 1:17). In light of this, perhaps it is best to see John as encapsulating the qualities of Elijah while not entirely replacing the eschatological Elijah. This is Leon Morris’s interpretation. (The authors need to correct the Matthew reference to 11:13-14).Regarding Acts 15:14-17, we cannot go into it here. It need only be noted that James does not say the prophets (the Amos citation seems representative) were fulfilled, only that they “agreed” that the Gentiles would also be brought in. It is perfectly possible to apply this text to the Apostolic work while preserving its original eschatological integrity.

A good brief treatment of this passage is found in Stanley Toussaint’s Commentary on Acts in the Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, edited by Walvoord and Zuck.

The Sermon on The MountIs It For the Church Today?

Is the Sermon on the Mount for Church Age believers?

The answer to this question is both "YES" and "NO"!

 

IS THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT FOR CHURCH AGE BELIEVERS?

YES!!!!!

 

1) It is profitable for us."All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). All Scripture, including Matthew 5-7, is profitable for the believer! We would not dare say that Deuteronomy is not of profit for believers today. We would not dare say that the Psalms or Proverbs are not profitable for believers today Likewise, how could we ever say that the Sermon on the Mount is not profitable for us? God has included it in His Word, and everything in the Bible is of immense value to us! Thank God for it!

2) It is to be preached."Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:2). "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). All the Word is to be preached, including the Sermon on the Mount. Dispensationalists have been known for expository preaching of God’s Word, preaching through books of the Bible verse by verse.1 When they preach through Matthew they do not skip chapters five through seven! All of God’s Word is important. Man should live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4).

3) It is precious and valuable.The Sermon on the Mount contains priceless spiritual gems which ought to be precious to the heart of every believer. There is rich spiritual application in the Beatitudes (5:1-12), in the model prayer (6:9-15), in the passage on needless anxiety (6:25-34), and in the parable of the two builders (7:24-27). What true Bible lover can deny the preciousness of verses such as the following:

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (5:16).

"Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him" (6:8). "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth

corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (6:20-21).

"No man can serve two masters"(6:24).

"Behold the fowls of the air....consider the lilies....be not anxious....seek ye first...." (6:26- 33).

"Be therefore not anxious about tomorrow" (6:34).

We need to beware of the ultradispensational approach which says that only the Prison Epistles are of any real value for us today. True dispensationalists have been known for their love of the entire Bible. They have long recognized the rich spiritual value found in the Sermon on the Mount. The original Scofield Reference Bible (1909) stated that the Sermon on the Mount "clearly has a beautiful moral application to the Christian" (p.1000). An early dispensationalist, Arno Gaebelein, devoted two pages in refuting the teaching of those who refuse to consider the Sermon as having any reference to Christian believers at all "as if there is no application to be made in this direction and the believer could afford to pass them by entirely and not be concerned about it" (The Gospel of Matthew, pages 109-111). He argues strongly that Christians may rightly find rich application from the Sermon. Concerning the Beatitudes, Gaebelein says, "The blessings in themselves are most wonderful in their scope and inexhaustible in their meaning" (p. 112). John Walvoord said that Christian believers should not push aside the Sermon as though it were unimportant: "The Sermon on the Mount is clearly intended to be a definitive statement of Christ’s teaching and should not be pushed aside lightly by unnecessary stricture which would relegate it to unimportant truth" (Matthew—Thy Kingdom Come, p. 45). The Sermon on the Mount contains truths which are precious and valuable and of extreme importance to every child of God. May we never neglect this portion or any portion of God’s Word.

4) It contains principles which are for all saints of all times.

There are some things that are true for all saints, regardless of when they live on earth.

Here are some examples:

Believers of all dispensations are to recognize their own spiritual bankruptcy (5:3).

Believers of all dispensations are to rejoice in spite of adverse circumstances (5:10-12).

Believers of all dispensations are to abound in good works (5:16). Believers of all dispensations struggle with sexual lust (5:28). Believers of all dispensations need to pray in secret (6:6). Believers of all dispensations need to sanctify God’s holy Name (6:9). Believers of all dispensations need to pray, "Thy will be done" (6:10). Believers of all dispensations need to lay up treasures in heaven (6:20). Believers of all dispensations struggle with the sin of worry (6:25-34). Believers of all dispensations need to put God first (6:33).

Believers of all dispensations need to build their lives upon God’s Word (7:24-27).

5) It contains truths which are trans-dispensational, truths which cut across all dispensations.Here are some examples:

Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled (5:6). God shines and showers His goodness on all men (5:45). God sees what is done is secret (6:1-6). God knows the needs of His believers (6:8,32). What a man treasures reveals his heart (6:21). No man can serve two masters (6:24). Those who honor God will be honored by God (6:33). Before we can righteously judge, we must first judge ourselves (7:1-5). Those who truly seek will truly find (7:7). Men are evil and depraved (7:11). The majority are headed for destruction; few will be saved (7:13-14). A tree is known by its fruit (7:17-20). Mere profession does not necessarily mean true possession (7:21-23). Our lives need to be built on a rock solid foundation (7:24-27).

CONCLUSION: The Sermon on the Mount is a valuable portion of God’s Word which should be precious to every Bible-loving person. Its spiritual principles are life-changing and its timeless truths are for all generations.

But there is another side to this question:

 

IS THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT FOR CHURCH AGE BELIEVERS?

NO!!!!!

1) The Lord gave this sermon to the Jews, not to the Church.The Church was not even in existence at the time this sermon was given (see the study entitled, When Did The Church Begin?). It was a pre-cross message given to Jews who were told that the kingdom was near (Matthew 4:17).

We can understand why Reformed men believe the Sermon was delivered to the Church. Reformed theology teaches that the Church is made up of the saints of all ages. Thus they teach that the Church existed in the Old Testament period and also that the Church existed during our Lord’s earthly ministry They believe that there is but one people of God, and therefore that the Sermon applies equally to the one people of God no matter when they live on earth.

2) The Sermon does not set forth distinctive Church truth.The Sermon contains truth that is useful to the Church and precious to the Church but not truth that is distinctive to the Church. Distinctive Church truth is found in the Upper Room Discourse (John chapters 13-17) and in the New Testament epistles. We are therefore not surprised to find the Sermon on the Mount totally silent about the following truths which were later revealed to the Church by its apostles and prophets:

The truth about the body of Christ (Ephesians 1). The truth about the building of Christ (Ephesians 2). The truth about the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5). The truth about the baptism ("YE IN ME")—see John 14:20. We are IN CHRIST! The truth about the indwelling ("I IN YOU")—see John 14:20. Christ is IN US! The truth of the mystery2 — See Eph. 3:1-12; 5:30-32; Col. 1:26-27, etc. The truth of the believer’s identification with Christ in His death and in His life

(Romans 6). The truth of the believer’s heavenly position and standing (Col. 1:1-4; Eph. 2:6;

Heb. 3:1). The truth of the believer’s deliverance from the law, and death to the law (Gal.

2:19; Rom. 7:1-6).

In light of this, it would be wrong to call the Sermon on the Mount the Magna Carta of Christian Living. It would be far more appropriate to call Romans chapter 6-8 or the Book of Ephesians by this title.

Arno Gaebelein made the following keen observations: "We cannot put into the discourse exclusively church teachings and say that all found here is to be applied to the church, and that it is the guide for the church, as some have said. If the Lord had had the church

in her heavenly calling and character in mind, the place given to the discourse would be all wrong. The Lord mentions the church the first time in the sixteenth chapter, and if following the sixteenth chapter He had spoken these words we might say that we should find in it the church....Not here (in the sermon on the mount), but in the Epistles, written after the death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and after the Holy Spirit had come down from heaven, do we find all about the church. The magna carta of the church is in the Epistles of Paul, to whom the full revelation of the church was given. Out of this misconception has sprung a good deal of error" (The Gospel of Matthew, pages 108-109).

3) The purpose of the Sermon was not to reveal Church truth.The purpose of the Sermon was not to reveal Church truth but to condemn the Jews and to show them that they were not fit to enter the kingdom which was announced to be "at hand."3  The key verse in understanding the purpose of the Sermon is Matthew 5:20—"For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." The Jews were very excited about the prospects of the kingdom. They loved the material benefits that it promised them. They had just seen the Lord’s healing miracles and they were astounded (Matt. 4:23-25). These miracles resulted in a great multitude following Him (Matt. 4:25).

This reminds us of John 6 when the Lord’s healing miracles (verse 2) and the Lord’s feeding miracle (verses 5-14) caused the multitude to want to take Jesus by force and make Him their King (v.15). The idea of having a King who would eliminate sickness and disease and who would be capable of feeding them was very appealing to them. The problem, however, was that they were not spiritually prepared for such a kingdom. When the Lord Jesus taught that it was necessary for them to have a personal relationship with Him, based on His death, then they lost interest and walked away (John 6, see verses 60-71).

In Matthew 4 the kingdom was announced as being very near (Matt. 4:17 and compare Matt. 3:2). Indeed, the King was personally present among them. His healing miracles (Matt. 4:23-25) demonstrated that He was indeed the Messiah (compare Isaiah 35:5-6). Great multitudes followed Him because of His healing miracles (Matt. 4:25). In view of these multitudes, the Lord gathered His disciples together to instruct them concerning the spiritual requirements that were necessary for entrance into the kingdom (see Matt. 5:1). It is probably best to understand these "disciples" in a broader sense as including many more than the twelve who are later named in Matthew chapter 10. In Matthew 5:1 the term "disciples" is probably a general term for those who followed Christ, similar to the way the term "disciples" is used in John chapter 6 (see verses 60, 61, 66) where it included more than the twelve. It even included disciples who later "went back and walked no more with Him" (v 66). These were unsaved disciples (compare John 6:64-65)! The Sermon on the Mount was addressed to such followers of Christ. The main

purpose of the Sermon was to set forth the righteousness that was necessary in order to qualify for entrance into the kingdom.

The Sermon is of a legal character.  Its purpose, like the law, was to convict and to condemn. By the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3 20), that is, by the law I come to know how sinful I am. By the Sermon on the Mount is the knowledge of unrighteousness. By the Sermon the disciples could learn how unrighteous they were and how unfit they were for the kingdom. The Sermon, in some ways, was even more condemning than the law. The Jew might be able to say, "I’ve never committed adultery." But Jesus said, "Have you ever lusted after a woman in your heart?" The Jew might be able to say, "I’ve never murdered anyone." But Jesus said, "Have you been angry with your brother?" See Matthew 5:21ff.

To see how condemning the Sermon is, consider the following personal questions:

1. Have you ever been guilty of sinful anger? (5:22) 2. Have you ever looked at a woman to lust after her? (5:28)4 3. Have you measured up to God’s perfect standard? (5:48) 4. Do you ever worry? (6:25-34) 5. Do you always put God first? (6:33) 6. Are you ever oblivious to your own faults? (7:1-5) 7. Do you always live according to the rule of Matthew 7:12?

An honest Jew would have to admit this: "Lord, I fail to measure up to the righteousness that you require. I am spiritually bankrupt (compare Matt. 5:3). I am totally unfit and unworthy to enter Your kingdom. Lord, be merciful unto me, an unrighteous sinner." Such a Jew is learning that he lacks the righteousness that is required and therefore he must seek HIS righteousness (Matt. 6:33).

CONCLUSION: The Sermon on the Mount was addressed to Jews who had followed Christ and who had seen His astounding healing miracles. They had been told by John the Baptist and by the Lord Himself that the kingdom promised by all the prophets was near at hand. The Lord, in this Sermon, set forth the kind of righteousness that was required in order to be fit to enter the kingdom. The Sermon was legal in character and condemnatory in effect. Though the gospel is not revealed in this Sermon, the Lord did make it clear that the solution for those who lack the needed righteousness is found, not in SELF, but in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matt. 6:33). Thus we have the first beatitude (Matt. 5:3) showing the blessedness of the person who recognizes his own spiritual bankruptcy.

The Sermon was not addressed to the Church (although there were certainly some in the audience who would later become members of Christ’s body). It did not set forth Church truth. The revelation of Church truth and mystery truth would come later, with Paul as God’s chief instrument in conveying this revelation. There is nothing in this Sermon which sets forth the great distinctive truths of this Church Age. There is much in this Sermon which is profitable and precious to the heart of every Church Age believer who loves God’s infallible Word.

An old quote worth repeating:

"In our days more than ever before we notice an astonishing misuse of the sermon on the mount. The saddest of all is that many preachers of various evangelical denominations fall back upon it as the most important document of Christendom; for them it seems to become more and more the Gospel, and the consequences are that we hear in our times more ethical preaching, more about becoming better, doing good, improving your better self, etc., than ever before. It would require much time and a great deal of space to show up all the errors which are springing from this application. It is the Gospel of works and evolution. And as this is done there is less preaching of the utter corruption of man, his lost condition and utter helplessness to be righteous (that which the discourse makes very clear), and the salvation of God in our Lord Jesus Christ, the absolute necessity of being born again, the reception of eternal life, the new nature. As the teachings of the Epistle to the Romans have been and are being abandoned in Christendom, the false application of the discourse here in Matthew has been taken up. There is therefore a continual increase of teaching about lifting man out of his lost place into a better sphere by means of ethical teachings taken from the sermon on the mount. This is done under the garb of a social Christianity, union of worshipers (?), the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. . . Surely, if evangelical preachers continue to progress in this awful direction by substituting ethical teachings for salvation by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and declare, as not a few have done, that the sermon on the mount is a large enough Bible for us, a general apostasy from the faith will soon be reached."

—Arno C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of Matthew, pages 107-108 

PERSONAL TESTIMONY:During all my childhood years until age 18, I faithfully attended a Protestant church where the great emphasis was upon the earthly life and ministry of Christ. The Sermon on the Mount received great emphasis. We were regularly told of the Beatitudes and the Golden Rule, etc. The problem was that during all those years, and after hearing hundreds of weekly sermons, I never heard the true gospel. I was never told the significance of the death of Christ. I was never told of my utter sinfulness before a holy God. I was never told of the

necessity of being born again (John 3:7). I was never warned about future judgment and the reality of hell. In short, I was never told how to be saved. I’m reminded of a song written by Theron Babcock on the topic of the ecumenical movement:

"They always talk about the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount, but whether you’ve ever been born again, doesn’t even seem to count---I know my sins are all forgiven and I am on my way to heaven. My trust is in the Lord, and not the ecumenical movement"

In 1972 I attended Wesleyan University where I met a fellow freshman student who believed the Bible and knew Christ as his personal Savior and through his testimony I was saved. Not long after I was saved, I wrote a song and some of the words were these:

Many talk about Jesus, His life and ministry: They love to think of His sermons,

A mighty Preacher was He; But I go back to the cross

Where for me my Savior died.May I never be ashamed of Calvary

And my Redeemer crucified.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! Sing hallelujah praise His name! Let us shout the Savior’s story;

May every saint His message proclaim! It is the power of God unto salvation

To all who will believe. May I never be ashamed of the Gospel:

Christ crucified for me!

                                                            George Zeller

 

 

Endnotes: 1 Speaking of dispensationalists, George Ladd, a non-dispensationalist, said this: "It

is doubtful if there has been any other circle of men who have done more by their influence in preaching, teaching and writing to promote a love for Bible study, a hunger for the deeper Christian life, a passion for evangelism and zeal for missions in the history of American Christianity" (George Ladd, Crucial Questions About the Kingdom of God, page 49).

2 The mystery passages in the New Testament reveal truths that were once hidden in previous ages but which are now revealed to God’s saints. The various New Testament mysteries all pertain to various aspects of church truth. See our paper on "The Mystery of Godliness."

3 There is another time, yet future, when the kingdom of heaven will again be announced as near at hand. This will be the case in the future tribulation period when the gospel of the kingdom will once again be proclaimed (see Matt. 24:14). It will be at that time that the message of the Sermon on the Mount will again be very meaningful.

4 I have a missionary friend who related a true incident that took place when he was an unsaved student in high school. For some reason, one of the students had a Bible in the cafeteria even though he was not a Christian. The table was full of high school male students, including my friend. The young man with the Bible had it opened to Matthew 5:28 and he was showing it to everyone at the table. One of them made this comment "This condemns everyone of us!" They were ready at that point for someone to come along with the gospel message! However, no believer was near the scene. Thankfully one of those students later heard the gospel from a godly campus missionary (Donald Fullerton) while a student at Princeton University, and passed from death unto life.

The Middletown Bible Church349 East StreetMiddletown, CT 06457(860) 346-0907

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Matthew Henry Bible Commentary - Matthew Chapter 5

Matthew Chapter 5 - King James Version of The Holy Bible

This chapter, and the two that follow it, are a sermon; a famous sermon; the sermon upon the mount. It is the longest and fullest continued discourse of our Saviour that we have upon record in all the gospels. It is a practical discourse; there is not much of the credenda of Christianity in it—the things to be believed, but it is wholly taken up with the agenda—the things to be done; these Christ began with in his preaching; for if any man

will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. The circumstances of the sermon being accounted for (v. 1, 2), the sermon itself follows, the scope of which is, not to fill our heads with notions, but to guide and regulate our practice. I. He proposes blessedness as the end, and gives us the character of those who are entitled to blessedness (very different from the sentiments of a vain world), in eight beatitudes, which may justly be called paradoxes (v. 3–12). II. He prescribes duty as the way, and gives us standing rules of that duty. He directs his disciples, 1. To understand what they are—the salt of the earth, and the lights of the world (v. 13–16). 2. To understand what they have to do—they are to be governed by the moral law. Here is, (1.) A general ratification of the law, and a recommendation of it to us, as our rule (v. 17–20). (2.) A particular rectification of divers mistakes; or, rather, a reformation of divers wilful, gross corruptions, which the scribes and Pharisees had introduced in their exposition of the law; and an authentic explication of divers branches which most needed to be explained and vindicated (v. 20). Particularly, here is an explication, [1.] Of the sixth commandment, which forbids murder (v. 21–26). [2.] Of the seventh commandment, against adultery (v. 27–32). [3.] Of the third commandment (v. 33–37). [4.] Of the law of retaliation (v. 38–42). [5.] Of the law of brotherly love (v. 43–48). And the scope of the whole is, to show that the law is spiritual.

Verses 1-2

We have here a general account of this sermon.

I. The Preacher was our Lord Jesus, the Prince of preachers, the great Prophet of his church, who came into the world, to be the Light of the world. The prophets and John had done virtuously in preaching, but Christ excelled them all. He is the eternal Wisdom, that lay in the bosom of the Father, before all worlds, and perfectly knew his will (Jn. 1:18); and he is the eternal Word, by whom he has in these last days spoken to us. The many miraculous cures wrought by Christ in Galilee, which we read of in the close of the foregoing chapter, were intended to make way for this sermon, and to dispose people to receive instructions from one in whom there appeared so much of a divine power and goodness; and, probably, this sermon was the summary, or rehearsal, of what he had preached up and down in the synagogues of Galilee. His text was, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is a sermon on the former part of that text, showing what it is to repent; it is to reform, both in judgment and practice; and here he tells us wherein, in answer to that question (Mal. 3:7), Wherein shall we return? He afterward preached upon the latter part of the text, when, in divers parables, he showed what the kingdom of heaven is like, ch. 13.

II. The place was a mountain in Galilee. As in other things, so in this, our Lord Jesus was but ill accommodated; he had no convenient place to preach in, any more than to lay his head on. While the scribes and Pharisees had Moses' chair to sit in, with all possible ease, honour, and state, and there corrupted the law; our Lord Jesus, the great Teacher of truth, is driven out to the desert, and finds no better a pulpit than a mountain can afford; and not one of the holy mountains neither, not one of the mountains of Zion, but a common mountain; by which Christ would intimate that there is no such distinguishing holiness of

places now, under the gospel, as there was under the law; but that it is the will of God that men should pray and preach every where, any where, provided it be decent and convenient. Christ preached this sermon, which was an exposition of the law, upon a mountain, because upon a mountain the law was given; and this was also a solemn promulgation of the Christian law. But observe the difference: when the law was given, the Lord came down upon the mountain; now the Lord went up: then, he spoke in thunder and lightning; now, in a still small voice: then the people were ordered to keep their distance; now they are invited to draw near: a blessed change! If God's grace and goodness are (as they certainly are) his glory, then the glory of the gospel is the glory that excels, for grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, 2 Co. 3:7; Heb. 12:18, etc. It was foretold of Zebulun and Issachar, two of the tribes of Galilee (Deu. 33:19), that they shall call the people to the mountain; to this mountain we are called, to learn to offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Now was this the mountain of the Lord, where he taught us his ways, Isa. 2:2, 3; Mic. 4:1, 2.

III. The auditors were his disciples, who came unto him; came at his call, as appears by comparing Mk. 3:13, Lu. 6:13. To them he directed his speech, because they followed him for love and learning, while others attended him only for cures. He taught them, because they were willing to be taught (the meek will he teach his way); because they would understand what he taught, which to others was foolishness; and because they were to teach others; and it was therefore requisite that they should have a clear and distinct knowledge of these things themselves. The duties prescribed in this sermon were to be conscientiously performed by all those that would enter into that kingdom of heaven which they were sent to set up, with hope to have the benefit of it. But though this discourse was directed to the disciples, it was in the hearing of the multitude; for it is said (ch. 7:28), The people were astonished. No bounds were set about this mountain, to keep the people off, as were about mount Sinai (Ex. 19:12); for, through Christ, we have access to God, not only to speak to him, but to hear from him. Nay, he had an eye to the multitude, in preaching this sermon. When the fame of his miracles had brought a vast crowd together, he took the opportunity of so great a confluence of people, to instruct them. Note, It is an encouragement to a faithful minister to cast the net of the gospel where there are a great many fishes, in hope that some will be caught. The sight of a multitude puts life into a preacher, which yet must arise from a desire of their profit, not his own praise.

IV. The solemnity of his sermon is intimated in that word, when he was set. Christ preached many times occasionally, and by interlocutory discourses; but this was a set sermon, kathisantos autou, when he had placed himself so as to be best heard. He sat down as a Judge or Lawgiver. It intimates with what sedateness and composure of mind the things of God should be spoken and heard. He sat, that the scriptures might be fulfilled (Mal. 3:3), He shall sit as a refiner, to purge away the dross, the corrupt doctrines of the sons of Levi. He sat as in the throne, judging right (Ps. 9:4); for the word he spoke shall judge us. That phrase, He opened his mouth, is only a Hebrew periphrasis of speaking, as Job 3:1. Yet some think it intimates the solemnity of this discourse; the congregation being large, he raised his voice, and spoke louder than usual. He had spoken long by his servants the prophets, and opened their mouths (Eze. 3:27; 24:27; 33:22); but

now he opened his own, and spoke with freedom, as one having authority. One of the ancients has this remark upon it; Christ taught much without opening his mouth. that is, by his holy and exemplary life; nay, he taught, when, being led as a lamb to the slaughter, he opened not his mouth, but now he opened his mouth, and taught, that the scriptures might be fulfilled, Prov. 8:1, 2, 6. Doth not wisdom cry—cry on the top of high places? And the opening of her lips shall be right things. He taught them, according to the promise (Isa. 54:13), All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; for this purpose he had the tongue of the learned (Isa. 50:4), and the Spirit of the Lord, Isa. 61:1. He taught them, what was the evil they should abhor, and what was the good they should abide and abound in; for Christianity is not a matter of speculation, but is designed to regulate the temper of our minds and the tenour of our conversations; gospel-time is a time of reformation (Heb. 9:10); and by the gospel we must be reformed, must be made good, must be made better. The truth, as it is in Jesus, is the truth which is according to godliness, Tit. 1:1.

Verses 3-12

Christ begins his sermon with blessings, for he came into the world to bless us (Acts 3:26), as the great High Priest of our profession; as the blessed Melchizedec; as He in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, Gen. 12:3. He came not only to purchase blessings for us, but to pour out and pronounce blessings on us; and here he does it as one having authority, as one that can command the blessing, even life for evermore, and that is the blessing here again and again promised to the good; his pronouncing them happy makes them so; for those whom he blesses, are blessed indeed. The Old Testament ended with a curse (Mal. 4:6), the gospel begins with a blessing; for hereunto are we called, that we should inherit the blessing. Each of the blessings Christ here pronounces has a double intention: 1. To show who they are that are to be accounted truly happy, and what their characters are. 2. What that is wherein true happiness consists, in the promises made to persons of certain characters, the performance of which will make them happy. Now,

1. This is designed to rectify the ruinous mistakes of a blind and carnal world. Blessedness is the thing which men pretend to pursue; Who will make us to see good? Ps. 4:6. But most mistake the end, and form a wrong notion of happiness; and then no wonder that they miss the way; they choose their own delusions, and court a shadow. The general opinion is, Blessed are they that are rich, and great, and honourable in the world; they spend their days in mirth, and their years in pleasure; they eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and carry all before them with a high hand, and have every sheaf bowing to their sheaf; happy the people that is in such a case; and their designs, aims, and purposes are accordingly; they bless the covetous (Ps. 10:3); they will be rich. Now our Lord Jesus comes to correct this fundamental error, to advance a new hypothesis, and to give us quite another notion of blessedness and blessed people, which, however paradoxical it may appear to those who are prejudiced, yet is in itself, and appears to be to all who are savingly enlightened, a rule and doctrine of eternal truth and certainty, by which we must shortly be judged. If this, therefore, be the beginning of Christ's doctrine, the beginning

of a Christian's practice must be to take his measures of happiness from those maxims, and to direct his pursuits accordingly.

2. It is designed to remove the discouragements of the weak and poor who receive the gospel, by assuring them that his gospel did not make those only happy that were eminent in gifts, graces, comforts, and usefulness; but that even the least in the kingdom of heaven, whose heart was upright with God, was happy in the honours and privileges of that kingdom.

3. It is designed to invite souls to Christ, and to make way for his law into their hearts. Christ's pronouncing these blessings, not at the end of his sermon, to dismiss the people, but at the beginning of it, to prepare them for what he had further to say to them, may remind us of mount Gerizim and mount Ebal, on which the blessings and cursings of the law were read, Deu. 27:12, etc. There the curses are expressed, and the blessings only implied; here the blessings are expressed, and the curses implied: in both, life and death are set before us; but the law appeared more as a ministration of death, to deter us from sin; the gospel as a dispensation of life, to allure us to Christ, in whom alone all good is to be had. And those who had seen the gracious cures wrought by his hand (ch. 4:23, 24), and now heard the gracious words proceeding out of his mouth, would say that he was all of a piece, made up of love and sweetness.

4. It is designed to settle and sum up the articles of agreement between God and man. The scope of the divine revelation is to let us know what God expects from us, and what we may then expect from him; and no where is this more fully set forth in a few words than here, nor with a more exact reference to each other; and this is that gospel which we are required to believe; for what is faith but a conformity to these characters, and a dependence upon these promises? The way to happiness is here opened, and made a highway (Isa. 35:8); and this coming from the mouth of Jesus Christ, it is intimated that from him, and by him, we are to receive both the seed and the fruit, both the grace required, and the glory promised. Nothing passes between God and fallen man, but through his hand. Some of the wiser heathen had notions of blessedness different from the rest of mankind, and looking toward this of our Saviour. Seneca, undertaking to describe a blessed man, makes it out, that it is only an honest, good man that is to be so called: De Vitâ Beatâ. cap. 4. Cui nullum bonum malumque sit, nisi bonus malusque animus—Quem nec extollant fortuita, nec frangant—Cui vera voluptas erit voluptatum comtemplio—Cui unum bonum honestas, unum malum turpitudo.—In whose estimation nothing is good or evil, but a good or evil heart—Whom no occurrences elate or deject—Whose true pleasure consists in a contempt of pleasure—To whom the only good is virtue, and the only evil vice.

Our Saviour here gives us eight characters of blessed people; which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian. On each of them a present blessing is pronounced; Blessed are they; and to each a future blessing is promised, which is variously expressed, so as to suit the nature of the grace or duty recommended.

Do we ask then who are happy? It is answered,

I. The poor in spirit are happy, v. 3. There is a poor-spiritedness that is so far from making men blessed that it is a sin and a snare—cowardice and base fear, and a willing subjection to the lusts of men. But this poverty of spirit is a gracious disposition of soul, by which we are emptied of self, in order to our being filled with Jesus Christ. To be poor in spirit is, 1. To be contentedly poor, willing to be emptied of worldly wealth, if God orders that to be our lot; to bring our mind to our condition, when it is a low condition. Many are poor in the world, but high in spirit, poor and proud, murmuring and complaining, and blaming their lot, but we must accommodate ourselves to our poverty, must know how to be abased, Phil. 4:12. Acknowledging the wisdom of God in appointing us to poverty, we must be easy in it, patiently bear the inconveniences of it, be thankful for what we have, and make the best of that which is. It is to sit loose to all worldly wealth, and not set our hearts upon it, but cheerfully to bear losses and disappointments which may befal us in the most prosperous state. It is not, in pride or pretence, to make ourselves poor, by throwing away what God has given us, especially as those in the church of Rome, who vow poverty, and yet engross the wealth of the nations; but if we be rich in the world we must be poor in spirit, that is, we must condescend to the poor and sympathize with them, as being touched with the feeling of their infirmities; we must expect and prepare for poverty; must not inordinately fear or shun it, but must bid it welcome, especially when it comes upon us for keeping a good conscience, Heb. 10:34. Job was poor in spirit, when he blessed God in taking away, as well as giving. 2. It is to be humble and lowly in our own eyes. To be poor in spirit, is to think meanly of ourselves, of what we are, and have, and do; the poor are often taken in the Old Testament for the humble and self-denying, as opposed to those that are at ease, and the proud; it is to be as little children in our opinion of ourselves, weak, foolish, and insignificant, ch. 18:4; 19:14. Laodicea was poor in spirituals, wretchedly and miserably poor, and yet rich in spirit, so well increased with goods, as to have need of nothing, Rev. 3:17. On the other hand, Paul was rich in spirituals, excelling most in gifts and graces, and yet poor in spirit, the least of the apostles, less than the least of all saints, and nothing in his own account. It is to look with a holy contempt upon ourselves, to value others and undervalue ourselves in comparison of them. It is to be willing to make ourselves cheap, and mean, and little, to do good; to become all things to all men. It is to acknowledge that God is great, and we are mean; that he is holy and we are sinful; that he is all and we are nothing, less than nothing, worse than nothing; and to humble ourselves before him, and under his mighty hand. 3. It is to come off from all confidence in our own righteousness and strength, that we may depend only upon the merit of Christ for our justification, and the spirit and grace of Christ for our sanctification. That broken and contrite spirit with which the publican cried for mercy to a poor sinner, is that poverty of spirit. We must call ourselves poor, because always in want of God's grace, always begging at God's door, always hanging on in his house.

Now, (1.) This poverty in spirit is put first among the Christian graces. The philosophers did not reckon humility among their moral virtues, but Christ puts it first. Self-denial is the first lesson to be learned in his school, and poverty of spirit entitled to the first beatitude. The foundation of all other graces is laid in humility. Those who would build high must begin low; and it is an excellent preparative for the entrance of gospel-grace

into the soul; it fits the soil to receive the seed. Those who are weary and heavy laden, are the poor in spirit, and they shall find rest with Christ.

(2.) They are blessed. Now they are so, in this world. God looks graciously upon them. They are his little ones, and have their angels. To them he gives more grace; they live the most comfortable lives, and are easy to themselves and all about them, and nothing comes amiss to them; while high spirits are always uneasy.

(3.) Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of grace is composed of such; they only are fit to be members of Christ's church, which is called the congregation of the poor (Ps. 74:19); the kingdom of glory is prepared for them. Those who thus humble themselves, and comply with God when he humbles them, shall be thus exalted. The great, high spirits go away with the glory of the kingdoms of the earth; but the humble, mild, and yielding souls obtain the glory of the kingdom of heaven. We are ready to think concerning those who are rich, and do good with their riches, that, no doubt, theirs is the kingdom of heaven; for they can thus lay up in store a good security for the time to come; but what shall the poor do, who have not wherewithal to do good? Why, the same happiness is promised to those who are contentedly poor, as to those who are usefully rich. If I am not able to spend cheerfully for his sake, if I can but want cheerfully for his sake, even that shall be recompensed. And do not we serve a good master then?

II. They that mourn are happy (v. 4); Blessed are they that mourn. This is another strange blessing, and fitly follows the former. The poor are accustomed to mourn, the graciously poor mourn graciously. We are apt to think, Blessed are the merry; but Christ, who was himself a great mourner, says, Blessed are the mourners. There is a sinful mourning, which is an enemy to blessedness—the sorrow of the world; despairing melancholy upon a spiritual account, and disconsolate grief upon a temporal account. There is a natural mourning, which may prove a friend to blessedness, by the grace of God working with it, and sanctifying the afflictions to us, for which we mourn. But there is a gracious mourning, which qualifies for blessedness, an habitual seriousness, the mind mortified to mirth, and an actual sorrow. 1. A penitential mourning for our own sins; this is godly sorrow, a sorrow according to God; sorrow for sin, with an eye to Christ, Zec. 12:10. Those are God's mourners, who live a life of repentance, who lament the corruption of their nature, and their many actual transgressions, and God's withdrawings from them; and who, out of regard to God's honour, mourn also for the sins of others, and sigh and cry for their abominations, Eze. 9:4. 2. A sympathizing mourning for the afflictions of others; the mourning of those who weep with them that weep, are sorrowful for the solemn assemblies, for the desolations of Zion (Zep. 3:18; Ps. 137:1), especially who look with compassion on perishing souls, and weep over them, as Christ over Jerusalem.

Now these gracious mourners, (1.) Are blessed. As in vain and sinful laughter the heart is sorrowful, so in gracious mourning the heart has a serious joy, a secret satisfaction, which a stranger does not intermeddle with. They are blessed, for they are like the Lord Jesus, who was a man of sorrows, and of whom we never read that he laughed, but often that he wept. The are armed against the many temptations that attend vain mirth, and are prepared for the comforts of a sealed pardon and a settled peace. (2.) They shall be

comforted. Though perhaps they are not immediately comforted, yet plentiful provision is made for their comfort; light is sown for them; and in heaven, it is certain, they shall be comforted, as Lazarus, Lu. 16:25. Note, The happiness of heaven consists in being perfectly and eternally comforted, and in the wiping away of all tears from their eyes. It is the joy of our Lord; a fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore; which will be doubly sweet to those who have been prepared for them by this godly sorrow. Heaven will be a heaven indeed to those who go mourning thither; it will be a harvest of joy, the return of a seed-time of tears (Ps. 126:5, 6); a mountain of joy, to which our way lies through a vale of tears. See Isa. 66:10.

III. The meek are happy (v. 5); Blessed are the meek. The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to his word and to his rod, who follow his directions, and comply with his designs, and are gentle towards all men (Tit. 3:2); who can bear provocation without being inflamed by it; are either silent, or return a soft answer; and who can show their displeasure when there is occasion for it, without being transported into any indecencies; who can be cool when others are hot; and in their patience keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of any thing else. They are the meek, who are rarely and hardly provoked, but quickly and easily pacified; and who would rather forgive twenty injuries than revenge one, having the rule of their own spirits.

These meek ones are here represented as happy, even in this world. 1. They are blessed, for they are like the blessed Jesus, in that wherein particularly they are to learn of him, ch. 11:29. They are like the blessed God himself, who is Lord of his anger, and in whom fury is not. They are blessed, for they have the most comfortable, undisturbed enjoyment of themselves, their friends, their God; they are fit for any relation, and condition, any company; fit to live, and fit to die. 2. They shall inherit the earth; it is quoted from Ps. 37:11, and it is almost the only express temporal promise in all the New Testament. Not that they shall always have much of the earth, much less that they shall be put off with that only; but this branch of godliness has, in a special manner, the promise of life that now is. Meekness, however ridiculed and run down, has a real tendency to promote our health, wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world. The meek and quiet are observed to live the most easy lives, compared with the froward and turbulent. Or, They shall inherit the land (so it may be read), the land of Canaan, a type of heaven. So that all the blessedness of heaven above, and all the blessings of earth beneath, are the portion of the meek.

IV. They that hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy, v. 6. Some understand this as a further instance of our outward poverty, and a low condition in this world, which not only exposes men to injury and wrong, but makes it in vain for them to seek to have justice done to them; they hunger and thirst after it, but such is the power on the side of their oppressors, that they cannot have it; they desire only that which is just and equal, but it is denied them by those that neither fear God nor regard men. This is a melancholy case! Yet, blessed are they, if they suffer these hardships for and with a good conscience; let them hope in God, who will see justice done, right take place, and will deliver the poor from their oppressors, Ps. 103:6. Those who contentedly bear oppression, and

quietly refer themselves to God to plead their cause, shall in due time be satisfied, abundantly satisfied, in the wisdom and kindness which shall be manifested in his appearances for them. But it is certainly to be understood spiritually, of such a desire as, being terminated on such an object, is gracious, and the work of God's grace in the soul, and qualifies for the gifts of the divine favour. 1. Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. See Ps. 24:5; ch. 6:33. They are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ; conveyed and secured by the imputation of that righteousness to us; and confirmed by the faithfulness of God. To have Christ made of God to us righteousness, and to be made the righteousness of God in him; to have the whole man renewed in righteousness, so as to become a new man, and to bear the image of God; to have an interest in Christ and the promises—this is righteousness. 2. These we must hunger and thirst after. We must truly and really desire them, as one who is hungry and thirsty desires meat and drink, who cannot be satisfied with any thing but meat and drink, and will be satisfied with them, though other things be wanting. Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest and importunate; "Give me these, or else I die; every thing else is dross and chaff, unsatisfying; give me these, and I have enough, though I had nothing else.'' Hunger and thirst are appetites that return frequently, and call for fresh satisfactions; so these holy desires rest not in any thing attained, but are carried out toward renewed pardons, and daily fresh supplies of grace. The quickened soul calls for constant meals of righteousness, grace to do the work of every day in its day, as duly as the living body calls for food. Those who hunger and thirst will labour for supplies; so we must not only desire spiritual blessings, but take pains for them in the use of the appointed means. Dr. Hammond, in his practical Catechism, distinguishes between hunger and thirst. Hunger is a desire of food to sustain, such as sanctifying righteousness. Thirst is the desire of drink to refresh, such as justifying righteousness, and the sense of our pardon.

Those who hunger and thirst after spiritual blessings, are blessed in those desires, and shall be filled with those blessings. (1.) They are blessed in those desires. Though all desires of grace are not grace (feigned, faint desires are not), yet such a desire as this is; it is an evidence of something good, and an earnest of something better. It is a desire of God's own raising, and he will not forsake the work of his own hands. Something or other the soul will be hungering and thirsting after; therefore they are blessed who fasten upon the right object, which is satisfying, and not deceiving; and do not pant after the dust of the earth, Amos 2:7; Isa. 55:2. (2.) They shall be filled with those blessings. God will give them what they desire to complete their satisfaction. It is God only who can fill a soul, whose grace and favour are adequate to its just desires; and he will fill those with grace for grace, who, in a sense of their own emptiness, have recourse to his fulness. He fills the hungry (Lu. 1:53), satiates them, Jer. 31:25. The happiness of heaven will certainly fill the soul; their righteousness shall be complete, the favour of God and his image, both in their full perfection.

V. The merciful are happy, v. 7. This, like the rest, is a paradox; for the merciful are not taken to be the wisest, nor are likely to be the richest; yet Christ pronounces them blessed. Those are the merciful, who are piously and charitably inclined to pity, help, and succour persons in misery. A man may be truly merciful, who has not wherewithal to be

bountiful or liberal; and then God accepts the willing mind. We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must, by Christian sympathy, partake of the afflictions of our brethren; pity must be shown (Job 6:14), and bowels of mercy put on (Col. 3:12); and, being put on, they must put forth themselves in contributing all we can for the assistance of those who are any way in misery. We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity the ignorant, and instruct them; the careless, and warn them; those who are in a state of sin, and snatch them as brands out of the burning. We must have compassion on those who are melancholy and in sorrow, and comfort them (Job 16:5); on those whom we have advantage against, and not be rigorous and severe with them; on those who are in want, and supply them; which if we refuse to do, whatever we pretend, we shut up the bowels of our compassion, James 2:15, 16; 1 Jn. 3:17. Draw out they soul by dealing thy bread to the hungry, Isa. 58:7, 10. Nay, a good man is merciful to his beast.

Now as to the merciful. 1. They are blessed; so it was said in the Old Testament; Blessed is he that considers the poor, Ps. 41:1. Herein they resemble God, whose goodness is his glory; in being merciful as he is merciful, we are, in our measure, perfect as he is perfect. It is an evidence of love to God; it will be a satisfaction to ourselves, to be any way instrumental for the benefit of others. One of the purest and most refined delights in this world, is that of doing good. In this word, Blessed are the merciful, is included that saying of Christ, which otherwise we find not in the gospels, It is more blessed to give than to receive, Acts 20:35. 2. They shall obtain mercy; mercy with men, when they need it; he that watereth, shall be watered also himself (we know not how soon we may stand in need of kindness, and therefore should be kind); but especially mercy with God, for with the merciful he will show himself merciful, Ps. 18:25. The most merciful and charitable cannot pretend to merit, but must fly to mercy. The merciful shall find with God sparing mercy (ch. 6:14), supplying mercy (Prov. 19:17), sustaining mercy (Ps. 41:2), mercy in that day (2 Tim. 1:18); may, they shall inherit the kingdom prepared for them (ch. 25:34, 35); whereas they shall have judgment without mercy (which can be nothing short of hell-fire) who have shown no mercy.

VI. The pure in heart are happy (v. 8); Blessed are the poor in heart, for they shall see God. This is the most comprehensive of all the beatitudes; here holiness and happiness ar fully described and put together.

1. Here is the most comprehensive character of the blessed: they are pure in heart. Note, True religion consists in heart-purity. Those who are inwardly pure, show themselves to be under the power of pure and undefiled religion. True Christianity lies in the heart, in the purity of heart; the washing of that from wickedness, Jer. 4:14. We must lift up to God, not only clean hands, but a pure heart, Ps. 24:4, 5; 1 Tim. 1:5. The heart must be pure, in opposition to mixture—an honest heart that aims well; and pure, in opposition to pollution and defilement; as wine unmixed, as water unmuddied. The heart must be kept pure from fleshly lusts, all unchaste thoughts and desires; and from worldly lusts; covetousness is called filthy lucre; from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, all that which come out of the heart, and defiles the man. The heart must be purified by faith, and entire

for God; must be presented and preserved a chaste virgin to Christ. Create in me such a clean heart, O God!

2. Here is the most comprehensive comfort of the blessed; They shall see God. Note, (1.) It is the perfection of the soul's happiness to see God; seeing him, as we may by faith in our present state, is a heaven upon earth; and seeing him as we shall in the future state, in the heaven of heaven. To see him as he is, face to face, and no longer through a glass darkly; to see him as ours, and to see him and enjoy him; to see him and be like him, and be satisfied with that likeness (Ps. 17:15); and to see him for ever, and never lose the sight of him; this is heaven's happiness. (2.) The happiness of seeing God is promised to those, and those only, who are pure in heart. None but the pure are capable of seeing God, nor would it be a felicity to the impure. What pleasure could an unsanctified soul take in the vision of a holy God? As he cannot endure to look upon their iniquity, so they cannot endure to look upon his purity; nor shall any unclean thing enter into the new Jerusalem; but all that are pure in heart, all that are truly sanctified, have desires wrought in them, which nothing but the sight of God will sanctify; and divine grace will not leave those desires unsatisfied.

VII. The peace-makers are happy, v. 9. The wisdom that is from above is first pure, and then peaceable; the blessed ones are pure toward God, and peaceable toward men; for with reference to both, conscience must be kept void of offence. The peace-makers are those who have, 1. A peaceable disposition: as, to make a lie, is to be given and addicted to lying, so, to make peace, is to have a strong and hearty affection to peace. I am for peace, Ps. 120:7. It is to love, and desire, and delight in peace; to be put in it as in our element, and to study to be quiet. 2. A peaceable conversation; industriously, as far as we can, to preserve the peace that it be not broken, and to recover it when it is broken; to hearken to proposals of peace ourselves, and to be ready to make them to others; where distance is among brethren and neighbours, to do all we can to accommodate it, and to be repairers of the breaches. The making of peace is sometimes a thankless office, and it is the lot of him who parts a fray, to have blows on both sides; yet it is a good office, and we must be forward to it. Some think that this is intended especially as a lesson for ministers, who should do all they can to reconcile those who are at variance, and to promote Christian love among those under their charge.

Now, (1.) Such persons are blessed; for they have the satisfaction of enjoying themselves, by keeping the peace, and of being truly serviceable to others, by disposing them to peace. They are working together with Christ, who came into the world to slay all enmities, and to proclaim peace on earth. (2.) They shall be called the children of God; it will be an evidence to themselves that they are so; God will own them as such, and herein they will resemble him. He is the God of peace; the Son of God is the Prince of peace; the Spirit of adoption is a Spirit of peace. Since God has declared himself reconcilable to us all, he will not own those for his children who are implacable in their enmity to one another; for if the peacemakers are blessed, woe to the peace-breakers! Now by this it appears, that Christ never intended to have his religion propagated by fire and sword, or penal laws, or to acknowledge bigotry, or intemperate zeal, as the mark of his disciples.

The children of this world love to fish in troubled waters, but the children of God are the peace-makers, the quiet in the land.

VIII. Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, are happy. This is the greatest paradox of all, and peculiar to Christianity; and therefore it is put last, and more largely insisted upon than any of the rest, v. 10–12. This beatitude, like Pharaoh's dream, is doubled, because hardly credited, and yet the thing is certain; and in the latter part there is change of the person, "Blessed are ye—ye my disciples, and immediate followers. This is that which you, who excel in virtue, are more immediately concerned in; for you must reckon upon hardships and troubles more than other men.'' Observe here,

1. The case of suffering saints described; and it is a hard case, and a very piteous one.

(1.) They are persecuted, hunted, pursued, run down, as noxious beasts are, that are sought for to be destroyed; as if a Christian did caput gerere lupinum—bear a wolf's head, as an outlaw is said to do—any one that finds him may slay him; they are abandoned as the offscouring of all things; fined, imprisoned, banished, stripped of their estates, excluded from all places of profit and trust, scourged, racked, tortured, always delivered to death, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. This has been the effect of the enmity of the serpent's seed against the holy seed, ever since the time of righteous Abel. It was so in Old-Testament times, as we find, Heb. 11:35, etc. Christ has told us that it would much more be so with the Christian church, and we are not to think it strange, 1 Jn. 3:13. He has left us an example.

(2.) The are reviled, and have all manner of evil said against them falsely. Nicknames, and names of reproach, are fastened upon them, upon particular persons, and upon the generation of the righteous in the gross, to render them odious; sometimes to make them formidable, that they may be powerfully assailed; things are laid to their charge that they knew not, Ps. 35:11; Jer. 20:18; Acts 17:6, 7. Those who have had no power in their hands to do them any other mischief, could yet do this; and those who have had power to persecute, had found it necessary to do this too, to justify themselves in their barbarous usage of them; they could not have baited them, if they had not dressed them in bear-skins; nor have given them the worst of treatment, if they had not first represented them as the worst of men. They will revile you, and persecute you. Note, Reviling the saints is persecuting them, and will be found so shortly, when hard speeches must be accounted for (Jude 15), and cruel mockings, Heb. 11:36. They will say all manner of evil of you falsely; sometimes before the seat of judgment, as witnesses; sometimes in the seat of the scornful, with hypocritical mockers at feasts; they are the song of the drunkards; sometimes to face their faces, as Shimei cursed David; sometimes behind their backs, as the enemies of Jeremiah did. Note, There is no evil so black and horrid, which, at one time or other, has not been said, falsely, of Christ's disciples and followers.

(3.) All this is for righteousness' sake (v. 10); for my sake, v. 11. If for righteousness' sake, then for Christ's sake, for he is nearly interested in the work of righteousness. Enemies to righteousness are enemies to Christ. This precludes those from the blessedness who suffer justly, and are evil spoken of truly for their real crimes; let such

be ashamed and confounded, it is part of their punishment; it is not the suffering, but the cause, that makes the martyr. Those suffer for righteousness' sake, who suffer because they will not sin against their consciences, and who suffer for doing that which is good. Whatever pretence persecutors have, it is the power of godliness that they have an enmity to; it is really Christ and his righteousness that are maligned, hated, and persecuted; For thy sake I have borne reproach, Ps. 69:9; Rom. 8:36.

2. The comforts of suffering saints laid down.

(1.) They are blessed; for they now, in their life-time, receive their evil things (Lu. 16:25), and receive them upon a good account. They are blessed; for it is an honour to them (Acts 5:41); it is an opportunity of glorifying Christ, of doing good, and of experiencing special comforts and visits of grace and tokens of his presence, 2 Co. 1:5; Dan. 3:25; Rom. 8:29.

(2.) They shall be recompensed; Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. They have at present a sure title to it, and sweet foretastes of it; and shall ere long be in possession of it. Though there be nothing in those sufferings than can, in strictness, merit of God (for the sins of the best deserve the worst), yet this is here promised as a reward (v. 12); Great is your reward in heaven: so great, as far to transcend the service. It is in heaven, future, and out of sight; but well secured, out of the reach of chance, fraud, and violence. Note, God will provide that those who lose for him, though it be life itself, shall not lose by him in the end. Heaven, at last, will be an abundant recompence for all the difficulties we meet with in our way. This is that which has borne up the suffering saints in all ages—this joy set before them.

(3.) "So persecuted they the prophets that were before you, v. 12. They were before you in excellency, above what you are yet arrived at; they were before you in time, that they might be examples to you of suffering affliction and of patience, James 5:10. They were in like manner persecuted and abused; and can you expect to go to heaven in a way by yourself? Was not Isaiah mocked for his line upon line? Elisha for his bald head? Were not all the prophets thus treated? Therefore marvel not at it as a strange thing, murmur not at it as a hard thing; it is a comfort to see the way of suffering a beaten road, and an honour to follow such leaders. That grace which was sufficient for them, to carry them through their sufferings, shall not be deficient to you. Those who are your enemies are the seed and successors of them who of old mocked the messengers of the Lord,'' 2 Chr. 36:16; ch. 23:31; Acts 7:52.